The Eternal
by EmmaLilly007
Summary: This story is set after the war; Voldemort is dead and there is much need for celebration and mourning - plus a thorough clean up - but what happens when the ones we loved and lost start mysteriously re-appearing? More to the point, what happens when the ones we hoped were lost forever are being sighted too? Could there be a dangerous twist to our trio's happy ending?
1. Ch 1: In The Mourning

_-Note to reader: The chapters are named after Paramore songs because they inspired my story's ideas and structure. I don't own any of the lyrics, or song names and Paramore are freaking awesome for coming up with them!)_

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Harry potter was mildly aware he was yet again the overly-famous ordinary boy he once remembered being. Of course, the swarms of overjoyed people had been exciting at first as they reflected his own exhilaration at the end of the second wizarding war. The constant cries of 'The boy who lived! The chosen one! He saved us all!' Were electrifying and Harry felt he had finally proved himself, yet also like he had no feelings inside - like a shell. The loss of so many had stripped him of any happiness he had left and all he really wanted to do was take a break from the celebration and retreat to somewhere he could be alone, or comforting his friends.

This brought him to the issue of a home. Grimmauld place had been ruined by the Death Eaters that had been left there since the accident at the Ministry, and Harry would never want to sleep there anyway. He hoped Kreacher was ok, though, and decided to call him from the ruins of the courtyard he was sitting in at Hogwarts.

But how exactly did you call a house elf when you had no clue where they were?

'Krecher, erm, could you come here please?'

There was no response. No loud click of apparation around Harry and no sign of the little elf. Harry had assumed the worst and began to blame himself for another death when he finally heard a faint popping sound from behind a large tree he was sitting near.

'Master Harry calls, sir?' The croaky voice came closer to Harry and the elf hobbled out from his landing place.

'Kreacher! What's happened to your leg?' Harry noticed a deep cut in his left leg, the reason for the house elf's limping. 'Where have you been?'  
Kreacher took a deep breath and told his story 'Kreacher was helping fight the Death Eater Rookwood, Master, and one of the giant Hagrid's spidery creatures did this to me – but kind Master Weasley saved Kreacher.' Harry was about to ask where Hagrid was when he recognised the name, a memory replaying in his mind:

' _ROOKWOOD!' _Percy bellowing the name and charging down the Hogwart's halls, Hermione's desperate cries of _'Listen to me! LISTEN, RON!' _as Ron thrashed to join his brother in battle_._

The struggle of Fred's death, the unimaginable pain of it all –Lupin, Tonks, Dobby and everyone else - was all coming back in waves of sadness, like a great weight pushing down on the centre of Harry's chest and growing larger, encompassing, crushing him till he was unable to even open his eyes.

'Is Master Harry hurt, Kreacher will get help?' The house elf offered.

'I'm fine, Kreacher' Harry was trying to convince the elf that everything would be back to normal, everything would be fine, but everyone knew that nothing could ever be the same as it was a few years ago when Voldemort was only a whispered rumour and Hogwarts was still being explored by Harry and his friends.

'Kreacher has been to the Black house, Master.' This didn't shock Harry; Kreacher probably went there to comfort himself after the battle, but finding it destroyed must have ruined the poor elf. 'Kreacher has Master Black's things and Kreacher has saved Master's possessions. Master Sirius's books and things were also saved by Kreacher. They's in the kitchens in the castle, Master Harry.'

Harry was shocked at the selflessness of the elf, and after thanking Kreacher, he told him he could live in the castle or wherever Harry decided to go for the time being. He mentally reminded himself to use his fortune at Gringotts to restore Grimmauld place and place more charms on it to keep Kreacher hidden from possible enemies; it was the least he could do to repay Kreacher for not only being responsible for tracking the locket, but also for his new and improved attitude and generosity.

Everyone was sleeping in the Great hall for now, as McGonagall (the new Headmistress of Hogwarts) thought that being together was the best thing to do. Harry had no other option anyway, and with that comforting thought, he left for the Great Hall, telling a gratified Kreacher to go and eat something nice and have some well deserved rest.

Mrs Weasley caught Harry on the way to the castle; she looked like she had been crying yet put on a brave smile for Harry – one of the nicest and most comforting things anyone had done for him. After all that this woman had been through, she still had the heart to try and make Harry feel loved and comforted.

'You've been so brave dear' she said, a tear rolling down her still smiling face, 'How are you doing, Harry?' She asked shakily.

Harry had no answer. Instead, he pulled her into a tight hug and though he had a lump in his throat and his eyes were burning, he managed to whisper in her ear 'Thank you so much, Molly, for being the mother I've always needed. I'm so sorry about everything you've lost for me, for this; I love you all so much' and they stood there, holding on to each other for a while, until Mrs Weasley pulled away and held Harry's shoulders with both hands, tears streaming down her face.

'There's no need to thank me, son. We all lose each other one day, unfortunately we lost Fred, Remus and Tonks and all our other friends before we got to say goodbye, but there will be a time when we'll see them again; though, a long time from now I hope.'

Harry was inspired by her bravery, and pulled himself together. They walked into the Great Hall together and were welcomed by Ron, Hermione, all looking tired and suitably gloomy. The ceiling of the hall still depicted a horrid, stormy atmosphere, till Mrs Weasley took out her wand and turned it into a bright blue sky with a rainbow to match. It lightened the mood instantly, and the hall looked a little less dreary. The false sunbeams shone on the dead, and illuminated their faces, making them look like sleeping angels.

George was sat on a fallen rock, staring blankly at the floor, avoiding looking at Fred's body. Harry held back his tears, his sobs and cries he felt building up in his mind and patted George on the shoulder. When not even a smile met Harry's worried eyes, he sat next to George and pulled out a chocolate frog.

'I gave one of these to Neville once when he was down. This is more than just Malfoy being a prat, but there's not much to do with a broken heart. Luna would say that a good Wrackspurt clearing might do you good – I personally think you just need to carry on with your family - live your life how Fred would want you to and you'll see him again someday.'

George looked at Harry and gave a tiny smile which quickly faltered and failed, 'Thanks Harry, but the thing is, how am I supposed to go on when...' His voice broke and a single, heartbroken tear ran down his face and he took a breath, 'When half of me is gone? I'm not me, I'm not Fred's brother; I'm empty.'

Harry put a hand on Georges shoulder; much like Mrs Weasley did to him, looked him in the eyes and said 'The ones we love never really leave us. You can always find them; in here.' and pointed to George's heart.

This brought back memories of his Godfather and Harry was lost for words. Though he had seen Sirius in the Forbidden Forest before he'd 'died' last night, and knew there was a chance of seeing him again when he eventually died for real, the memories came flooding back with no hope of stopping them and Harry could comfort George no more; it came to him suddenly that there was no fooling anyone into feeling better now, you just had to deal with it.

Ron and Hermione came over together holding hands, Ron nudged Harry with his foot, 'We're going over to the Burrow for a bit to get some pillows and stuff for sleeping in the Great Hall tonight; do you two want to come?' he asked, mainly directing the question at George, seeing as he was staring into space again.

Harry took a deep breath and sighed a 'Might as well,' then - seeing as George's gaze had not been broken - added 'You coming, George?'

George gave a shrug and stood up, very slowly. He stood next to the others and put his hand in to apparate. The apparation spell had been taken off of Hogwarts during the battle, though Professor McGonagall was doing her best to get it back.

The group arrived at the Burrow to find Ginny, Luna and Neville already holding a pile of things each to take with them. However upon seeing Harry, Ginny dropped her pillows, food and disgruntled Arnold the pigmy puff and threw her arms around him. He'd forgotten this was the first time she'd seen him properly since after the war; he had fallen asleep in Dumbledore's office last night. It seemed like forever now since he'd had her in his arms and held her closer; grateful she was alive and unscathed.

Neville, however, looked a little worse for wear. He had huge bruises covering his face, arms and presumably the rest of him too. There was a huge cut on the side of his face and - though it looked like Mrs Weasley had been at it with her cleaning spell - it had fresh blood seeping from it again. His lip and eyebrow had deep lacerations through them and his arms looked like they'd been tied up too tight and the rope had cut into his skin.

'It's not as bad as you think' Neville said, catching Harry staring worriedly at his injuries, 'I'm alive, that's all that matters.'

George walked away, towards the house; Harry doubted he'd ever feel whole again and it was disheartening to see such a lively person look so... empty.

Luna stared after George and Harry heard her murmur more to herself than anyone else 'I'll go help him; he'll be feeling alone right now.'

So she wandered after George, conjuring a Patronus charm with whatever happy memories she had left. That was the thing with Luna, she never seemed to run out of happiness – sparking a burst of hope wherever she went – a nice person to have around in times like this.

Neville and Ginny were struggling with their bundles of stock from the house, so promised to catch up later and left for Hogwarts while the rest of the group went inside the Burrow.

'So, how are things Harry?' Hermione asked, 'Have you noticed anything different about yourself since Voldemort died?'

Harry noticed the careful way she was talking to him; was he really that touchy all the time? 'Yeah, I'm much more laid back and, though it feels practically impossible right now, I think I'm happier than before. I just noticed how much of a prat I must have been all these years. I'm so sorry; both of you.'

Ron looked up from the Floo powder he was inspecting mindlessly as they spoke, 'S'alright mate, you couldn't help it. Wouldn't want to imagine how I'd be if I had a part of Voldemort in me, it was bad enough just wearing the Horcrux; I'll never wear a bloody necklace again! You had your reasons for the way you were and like you said before; we'd kind of suspected it for a while before you found out you were a Horcrux.'

Harry was grateful for having such great friends; ones that had stayed with him through the worst of times, and they were all alive; as Neville had said, that was all that mattered right now.


	2. Ch 2: Got Nothing But Time on Our Hands

It was 2pm when Harry, Ron and Hermione got back to the great hall. They had spent the morning talking about what was going to happen now that they had no war to worry about. They had decided it was best to roll with the punches and help others tidy up the devastation of the war before they carried on with the rest of their lives. It was strange to think of the future; Harry's whole life had been building up to the final battle between him and Voldemort and the war between good and bad had really been going on since he'd got to Hogwarts. He was lucky to even have the rest of his life to consider and would be making the most of every day from now on.

Filch was kicking little parts of rubble and grumbling to Mrs Norris, obviously contemplating the seemingly impossible yet inevitable cleanup that needed to start soon. Mr Weasley walked in from outside and waved at Harry.

'Been up to much?' he asked with the now permanent pain in his eyes.

Harry shook his head, 'We've got some stuff for tonight and we're planning on helping with the clean up.'

Hermione had walked over to Filch and was trying to make the mess vanish somehow. All Harry could think was that he wished Dumbledore were here; he'd know exactly what to do and would have the place cleaned up in all of one day.

Ron turned to Harry, 'Let's go to the common room, shall we?'

Harry agreed and called the rest of his fellow Gryffindors around him to come with them, so Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Seamus and Dean all left for Gryffindor common room, fearing what they would find.

What they found wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. Paintings had been destroyed and chunks of wall blasted apart, though the extent of the damage wasn't quite as bad as the rest of the castle. Up in the bedrooms, two windows were smashed and there were three holes in the floor, but the room looked untouched apart from these few damages, which Hermione immediately corrected to the best of her abilities.

'We could still sleep in here tonight.' Seamus said, obviously wanting the comfort of a bed.

'We could, but I think we all need to stay together, at least for tonight; everyone's lost someone dear to them and we need each other's company to help heal ourselves.' Harry said, wisely.

Dean smartly suggested levitating the mattresses down to the Great Hall, and after a quick lesson from Hermione and a couple of blunders on Neville's part, (though Harry noticed that as Neville's confidence rose with the events of the war, his magic abilities had also strengthened) they were struggling though the castle with 7 mattresses from various dorms in the Gryffindor tower.

When they had dumped their beds in the Great Hall and helped others retrieve more from their common rooms, it was time for tea and Professor McGonagall had set up a single table on the far side of the hall. It was covered in delicious foods, and Harry noticed that though the castle was in ruins, the kitchens didn't seem to have been effected and evidently, the elves were still working as hard as ever, which Hermione was not pleased about. During Hermione's rant at the table, Professor McGonagall stood up and tapped a glass goblet with her wand to catch everybody's attention.

'We have suffered great losses, both yesterday and in the past, due to Voldemort and his Death Eaters.' There was a grave silence. McGonagall wore a pained expression, though after a moment she spoke again; now her voice carried strength and pride, 'now that threat has been eliminated due to our bravery and how we as a school, as family, came together to fight for each other's lives at the darkest of times. We must recognise the fact that our loved ones died as heroes – I ask that we raise our glasses to the dead and honour their memory; none shall be forgotten!'

They raised their glasses and repeated 'none shall be forgotten' and sat down feeling slightly better than before the speech. Some people had tears in their eyes, George however (who had returned just in time for tea with Luna) had also raised his glass and looked slightly happier than before; shouting McGonagall's epitaph louder than anyone in the hall, reminding everyone of the true Weasley twin he was at heart, no matter how deeply buried in grief that part of him was now.

The evening went on with nothing much happening. Harry stuck with his friends and the Weasleys and made sure no one was left out. Luna stuck with George, and this seemed to cheer him up a little; her aura was impossible to feel completely hopeless around.

Harry and Ginny had wanted some privacy and went to talk outside by the lake.

'Feels like years since I've had you to myself' she said to him, curled up against his chest as they watched the sun set.

'I think it was nearly a year,' Harry said, shocked at how long he'd been without seeing everyone. 'But I'm back now, and we've got the rest of our lives together ahead of us'

Ginny never disagreed about being with him for the rest of their lives, and she and Harry happily contemplated that thought whilst talking about happy times and memories of the past – plans for the future.

At around 8pm, the couple returned to the great hall to set up to sleep for the night. Harry hadn't noticed but he was completely shattered. The battle had made him more powerful as a person (he hadn't had a chance to really see if it had improved his magic yet), but the months he had spent running and camping had caught up with him. Harry couldn't wait to be staying in a more stable environment with more than a couple of other people so he could actually relax.

Ron and Neville were sleeping in the corner with Harry with their mattresses, and Ginny, Hermione, Luna, George, Seamus and Dean come to join them. They sat up for about an hour, talking about the trio's adventures in their absence from Hogwarts.

'Did you really turn up at my house?' Luna asked.

'Yes, we saw it... uh... explode, too.' Hermione replied cautiously.

'Ah, the crumpled horned snorkack's horn was exploded by the death eaters, wasn't it?' Luna asked, innocently. 'It's a shame, really – that was a lovely gift' If Harry didn't know her better he'd think Luna was trying to wind Hermione up.

'It most absolutely was not the horn of... one of those!' Hermione exclaimed, trying not to get too stressed out, 'I told your father it was an erumpent horn and he wouldn't have any of it; now look at what happened! It was a ridiculously dangerous object to have in the house; let alone give as a gift to his daughter!'

'I was told most of the damage was caused by the Death Eaters' Luna replied, unfazed by Hermione's rash accusations and blunt, unsympathetic manner.

Ron persuaded Hermione to give up, and after talking about Voldemort's death and sniggering (only slightly guiltily) at the memory of his face when he realised Harry wasn't dead, they settled down and went to sleep, lulled by the peacefulness of being together and safe again.

Harry was awoken by a strange noise. A flapping by his bed, almost like an...

Owl.

Hedwig was pecking his arm, flapping her wings to stay balanced and obviously annoyed at him. Harry, utterly bemused, got up slowly, staring wide-eyed at the owl and gave her some left-overs from tea that hadn't been cleaned up. The owl squawked happily and settled down. Harry stroked her and whispered loving words to her for a while before drifting off again.

When Harry awoke in the morning, he still remembered the strange event, which he'd passed off as a dream. Hedwig was nowhere to be seen; she was dead and the memory of the strange happening was a little hazy anyway. Harry thought nothing of it, though sitting in the Great Hall made him realise just how much he missed his owl.

However, Harry had forgotten the details of the previous night; when Hedwig had pecked him it had hurt, and that rarely happened in dreams; even to wizards. The scraps Harry had given Hedwig were not on the table, and everything else that had been there that night was in exactly the same place...


	3. Ch 3: Misguided Ghosts

The day carried on as normal, Professor McGonagall found a spell to help arrange the mess to make it easier to tidy and villagers from Hogsmeade also came to help with the cleanup; the hall was looking more like an arranged mess now – the blocks that had fallen had either been disposed of or pushed to one side – most of the blood and dust was also gone now, too.

Harry, Ron and Hermione took time off during the clean up to go and visit Hagrid. Apparently he had been hurt and that was why he hadn't come to help. He was in the hospital dorm and when the trio arrived he was bandaged and looking less like the lively self he normally was.

''Arry! 'Ow yer doin? An' li'l 'Ermione an' Ron!' His face brightened at the sight of them, seeing they were alive and well.

'We're ok thanks Hagrid' Harry said, 'But, what happened to you?'

'Ah, it's nuthin,' Hagrid mumbled, 'Those darn spiders got me though! An' the death eaters didn' like me either; tied me up way to tight if yeh ask me'

Harry remembered how Hagrid had been tied up like a monster in the forest, only a few feet away from Voldemort and noticed how lucky Hagrid was to have survived.

'We're glad you're ok apart from that though' Hermione said, looking at his injuries worriedly, 'There's no permanent damage, is there?'

'Nah - Madam Pomfrey told me I'll be alrigh' to go soon enough' Hagrid smiled, 'Could 'ave been worse, I surpose.'

'You're not wrong there.' Ron replied.

There was a loud gasp and McGonagall come round the corner with Aberforth Dumbledore looking rather pale.

'Mr Aberforth would like to have a word with you, Potter.' She said, a blank expression on her face.

Harry took Ron and Hermione and dragged them with him to where Aberforth was leading him.

'Now, none of what I'm about to tell you has been confirmed, Potter, so you can't get too worried yet, but I just want you to keep an eye out and try not to get into trouble.'

Harry had a sick feeling in his stomach - he knew this wasn't going to be good. It seemed the world never ran out of bad news. 'What is it?' he asked.

'There've been a few sightings, around the area, of Death Eaters roaming the land, Bellatrix Lestrange being one of them.'

There was a stunned silence. Hermione eventually piped up, 'But, she's dead!' she squeaked, a strain in her voice that sounded like she was on the brink of losing it. Ron put his arm around her and stroked her hair to try and comfort her.

'Yes, Miss Granger, thank you for pointing that out' Aberforth retorted. 'This is the problem, most of the Death eaters being sighted were killed in the war; there's no possible explanation, but Aurors have even sighted a few of them, and there's great trust in the Auror department. No one knows what to make of it.'

'But, couldn't it all just be the effects of the war?' Harry asked with a growing worry in his mind, 'Maybe people are just scared and are having some kind of hallucinations?'

'Maybe indeed,' Aberforth replied. 'Then again, maybe not. The sightings are being constantly repeated all around the Wizarding world; it seems that either there are ghosts of Death eaters in the wizarding world, which could be a nuisance, or something has gone dreadfully wrong.'

Harry thought of his odd 'dream' from last night. Aberforth was right; something was going horribly wrong. How were they supposed to fix this? They couldn't have thousands of dead people's ghosts wandering around the wizarding world! Especially not those of death eaters!

'Potter?' Aberforth had an anxious look in his eyes.

'I know; be careful.' Harry replied.

Once the three of them had left Aberforth and returned to the hall, they told their friends about what they'd been told.

'But, how is it possible?' Hermione cried, 'There's no possible explanation for Death Eaters to be coming back!'

As Harry told them about his dream last night, the worry in Hermione's eyes grew more pronounced, and when Harry remembered the pain of Hedwig's pecking in his arm, there was a loud gasp from the group and Harry suddenly felt faint.

'Are you sure, Harry?' Neville asked - a fearful look on his face.

'Certain; I wonder how Hedwig got back? Animals can't come back as ghosts, can they?'

Hermione shook her head. 'This isn't making any sense!' she exclaimed, 'Perhaps it was just a dream - your mind overreacting - but then put together with the sightings, it all adds up to...'

_Something pretty terrible_, Harry thought. What if these weren't ghosts they were dealing with, but something much more sinister?

The realisation crossed everybody's mind at the same time, and scared looks were exchanged, not knowing how to react, or where to start, Harry said the first thing that come to his mind; 'Do you think, you know – others – are back as well?'  
George's head snapped up, knowing exactly what Harry was getting to, but asked anyway; 'What do you mean?'

'Well, Hedwig last night and the death eater sightings – couldn't the good people be back too?'

There was no better thought than that; but what if it was a choice to come back? Would the heroes who died return if they had the chance, or would they have already 'moved on'?

They were about to find out...

(That was a really short chapter, sorry about that; I didn't really know what else to write without giving a few things away or doing loads at once)


	4. Ch 4: Miracle

The rising hope in the group was fading when a couple of days later there was a shriek from the bedrooms whilst the group was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, still reminiscing old days.

It was Neville. He looked pale and excited. 'Painting!' He panted, unable to form coherent sentences.

They sat him down and Hermione questioned him. 'What painting?' She asked, quietly, trying to calm him.

'T-T-T' Neville's teeth were chattering and he had a huge smile that looked slightly manic on his face. He pointed upstairs, unable to speak and ran off, gesturing for them to follow. There was a woop from all around as they scrambled up the stairs after him.

Neville was standing in front of a painting of a farm, one lonesome person on their own pacing by the fence by the horses, light sparking from a stick at the end of their arm and bright red hair on their head, supposedly because of the stressful situation she was in.

'Tonks!' They all cried.

'Wotcher!' She shouted with a huge grin on her face and her hair turning a bright yellow, her voice was barely audible and they stood in silence, in awe of the miracle in front of them, 'Fancy helping me out of here; I take it I'm in a painting? It's awfully odd! It's like being surrounded by coloured cardboard and string!'

'Ron! Pass me that book on the side!' Hermione said, her hands shaking, her wand already in hand.

The book was Seamus' copy of the new book '1001 spells for the advanced wizard' Hermione looked at the index muttering 'It must be in here! I heard about this book; it's got everything! Where- aha!'

She pointed at the painting and said 'Humano recharaza!'

The painting exploded with light and the group had to shield their eyes. Harry was slightly worried at what would happen, but then again, when did Hermione's spells ever fail?

After a few moments they opened their eyes and Tonks was standing in front of them looking at herself, checking she was whole. It was amazing - a miracle - she was alive! They all ran to hug her and every one of them was in tears. George was jumping around whooping and crying, a new raging hope in his eyes.

'HOW ARE YOU HERE?' Ginny cried. She had one arm round Harry who was supporting her and one arm around Tonks.

Tonks' face went blank, 'I don't know. I was dead – wasn't I? I remember getting shot with a spell then I was in a field, then I was here, well, in the painting all of a sudden. It was very strange. I was with Remus! Where is he? Oh! WHERE'S MY SON?' She cried; a new excitement in her eyes.

Hermione laughed and began crying uncontrollably, along with Ginny - even Ron was losing it a little.

Tonks walked with them to the Great Hall and there were shrieks from the adults as they saw the new arrival. Mrs Weasley gasped, dropped the mug of tea she was bringing to Mr Weasley and ran to hug Tonks, tears streaming down her face and whispering 'Thank you! Thank goodness!'

Though there was something very odd about the situation - Tonks was staring – horrified over Mrs Weasley's shoulder - at her own dead body a few feet away from her. Others were staring, too, and it became evident that no matter how lovely it was to have Tonks back, she wasn't meant to be here and something wasn't right at all.

'W-W-What's happened to me?' Tonks whispered. 'I'm alive now – aren't I?'

'Of course you are,' Hermione said, 'You have a pulse, you're not a ghost – you must be alive.'

'You're not a flesh eating zombie at least...' Ron added.

'Thanks for that, Ron' Tonks replied, 'But how on earth is there... two of me? Surely it's not p-'

She had apparently just seen Lupin's body lying next to hers and she fell to her knees, a blank expression on her face, tears already falling.

'Remus' she whispered, her voice getting louder and more hysterical 'No! You can't be dead! How am I...?'

Her voice broke off and she broke down into tears. All Harry wanted now was for Lupin to come back to ease her pain; he wasn't use to seeing Tonks so... hopeless. She crawled to Lupin's side and cradled his head in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably, her heart breaking in front of them.

'We should have moved the bodies.' Mrs Weasley said, a strained expression on her face, pained at seeing Tonks so upset.

'How on earth could we have known that this would happen?' Mr Weasley said, he went over and patted Tonks on the shoulder in greeting, not wanting to disturb her sorrow.

Harry dragged Ron and Hermione from the hall and apparated them directly to where Teddy Lupin was staying with his grandmother.

There was a yelp as they arrived, their visit obviously startling the household. Teddy, however, laughed delightedly when he saw Harry and smiled widely.

'I'm so glad to see you're alive - congratulations on the success - and thank you for your aid to the wizarding world, dears.' Andromeda gushed once she had recovered the shock. Her eyes were puffy from the crying she'd done from the news of her daughter's death, which couldn't have been worse news after the death of her husband. She had been able to do nothing but sit there looking after Teddy while the war had been going on; completely helpless. Harry pitied her for that, and was glad she of all people got some of her family back.

'Andromeda, we have some exciting news, I think you should come with us.' Harry smiled.

They apparated back to the Great Hall with the rest of the Tonks family. Upon seeing Tonks, Andromeda threw Teddy into Harry's arms and ran to her daughter, shrieking the entire time.

'I thought you were dead!' She cried, 'Oh, I'm so glad you're alive, I love you so much Dora!'  
Tonks hugged her mother and regained some happiness for a moment or two, but turned back to Lupin and lost whatever was left in her again.

Andromeda saw Lupin's body and gasped, then saw Tonks' dead double and nearly fainted. Harry quickly explained the situation and told her that they were trying to sort out what had happened.

Teddy began speaking baby nonsense, and Tonks gasped and whirled round to meet her son's eyes. 'Teddy!' She cried, 'Oh, goodness! I'm so lucky to get to see you again!'

The moment that Harry passed Teddy to Tonks was the exact moment Remus Lupin walked through the doors of the hall.

It was as if Tonks was seeing him for the first time. She met his eyes with such joy and love that even Harry had tears in his eyes. She ran to him, holding their son that they nearly never got to see again. Lupin embraced them both and looked as though he'd never let go. They laughed when Teddy's hair turned the same bubblegum pink shade as his mothers, and kissed him with an undying love – a family reunited again.

_(Another short chapter, but I think it was important to show the first people back. I chose Hedwig to come back first because I felt like she was a forgotten loss and I think it would have meant a lot to Harry Lupin and Tonks were the first people to come back because I love them and their family was torn apart, which upset me so much But they're ok now hahaa ^.^ More surprises in store ;))_


	5. Ch 5: Playing God

Hermione could never remember being more grateful for anything in her life. Remus and Tonks were living like normal, the only worrying thing being that they had dead body doubles, which was a small price to pay for getting their lives back.

But Hermione, being the pessimist she was, could not completely ignore the signs; according to Aberforth, Death Eaters were still being sighted and she couldn't bear to look at the blank expressions on the dead couple's face any longer – the more she tried to figure out what was going on, the more worried she got. Lupin and Tonks were obviously not meant to be here; death isn't just reversed – nothing, not even magic is that simple or powerful – so what was happening?

No one was letting Hermione think straight, though. The moment Tonks returned everybody regained hope; even George was beginning to look alive again. Luna had been helping him however she could and was beginning to look like his little sister, minus the ginger hair. Ginny was with Harry most of the time and although this seemed like she was forgetting George's pain, she too had lost a close brother and trying to help him would only worsen the pain for the both of them.

Hermione was with Ron; relieved they still had their lives in front of them, they had been able to talk about their feelings, which wasn't easy seeing as both of them had a love/hate relationship up until a few years ago – it turned out, however, that this had never been the case – both had mutual feelings for each other, agreeing that the moment they started to love each other was the same; when they realised they were completely different, the first day they'd met on the Hogwarts Express and Ron had recited (and failed) the spell to turn his rat yellow. Who knew that a fake spell would be so effective? Hermione would be grateful to the Weasley twins forevermore.

This left her only with the dilemma of finding her parents, getting her life back on track (returning to Hogwarts to take her NEWTS, most probably) and this new problem, which was proving more challenging than she thought. There was only one place she knew to go at times like these, and it would be comforting to go back there after all this time. So she set off to once again drag the boys to the library.

She found them in the hall. Ron was talking to Ginny and Harry – Hermione was pleased to see – had his arm round her. Ron wasn't looking even slightly bitter; she was proud.

She walked over and smiled, 'guess where we're going next?'

Ron picked up on what she was getting at instantly and groaned, 'what explanation do you think we're going to get from the library Hermione? Nothing like this has ever happened before – I'm pretty certain of it.'

Nevertheless, she managed to get them all scouring the library shelves for possible explanations and a few hours later had a small pile of books, yet were none the wiser.

'Told you...' Ron grumbled.

Hermione gave a short laugh and went back to reading.

'What we need is something that explains people coming back from the dead.' Ron pondered, trying to gain an answer through speech. It made Hermione smile to think he might do it to impress her.

'I mean, we had the resurrection stone' he continued, 'but that only work on people you want to come back doesn't it? And they're not really alive...'

'I don't know Ron,' Harry said. 'I'm assuming it does, seeing as I didn't get any death eaters with me in the forest when I saw my parents, Sirius and Remus... I wouldn't know though; I've never used it before'

Hermione's brain almost clicked into action out loud. 'Of course!' she cried. The others looked at her questioningly; she smiled at Ron; for his pondering was the reason for her success.

'Well, the Resurrection stone... It's never been used before! I read it somewhere - in an explanation of the tale of the Three Brothers. Everyone after the second Percival brother had been too scared to use it – seeing what it did to him – though it was still kept close to the family, the owners not realising its true powers – they'd been long forgotten. But we know that the stone was embedded in a ring, and passed down through generations, though this time in a different family who thought the Hallows symbol was the mark of a family heirloom showing the purity of their blood.'

'The Gaunts!' Harry gasped, remembering the vision in the pensieve of Tom Riddle's grandfather.

Hermione nodded, excited yet terrified to hear the truth of what was happening. 'The next person to use it, well, it must have been you Harry – Dumbledore didn't use it; he was too scared to reach Arianna and see what he thought he had done.'

They sat in silence for what seemed like a long time. Finally, Ron said 'so the resurrection stone... it's actually resurrected people.'

'It's the only explanation I can think of' Hermione half-whispered. 'How on Earth can we un-resurrect them though?'

They set off once again on the bookshelves, this time with a purpose. Hermione wandered to the restricted section and found many books about dark potions, but none about The Three Brothers or the Deathly Hallows.

About an hour later, she came across a book on mysterious ancient wizarding history. She had been skimming the pages for anything of use to them, and came across a strange passage.

'Harry, Ron – I think I've found something!' she called. Their footsteps came from either side of her, and when they arrived she read:

'They were the ghosts of Likel – a small wizard village East of Yorkshire. A professor, an animagI, a farmer and a Quidditch player – all linked to the Peverell family. The ghosts were present; real and of substance, but their graves remained undisturbed. This concerned the mayor of the town and he ordered the 'ghosts' to be brought to him. They remembered their deaths, some in gruesome detail, and yet had no explanation of why they were back. The mayor saw no apparent threat, so life went on. Years went by and the 'ghosts' grew old. The oldest – the professor – passed away as a mortal would, yet his 'ghost' body seemed to simply vanish upon death. The others also vanished from existence, at the precise moment of his death. This curiosity remains unexplained, but what is clear is that something mysterious happened in Likel; whether involving the Peverell family's legendary trio of death's gifts or not – this was no ordinary magic.'

'But that doesn't explain why the Gaunt family managed to get the stone' Harry said. 'Cadmus was the brother with the stone – surely it would have been passed down his family?'

Hermione was silent, then said 'But there was no reason to believe he ever had a family to pass it down to – this legend suggests the ring's effects were centred around the village they lived in, so the ring may have been stolen – passed on to a friend of Cadmus' – anything! There's also a legend that Cadmus fostered a child to continue his heritage after his lover died – therefore the Gaunts became a direct descendent of the Peverells. Either one has its problems, but they can both explain how the Gaunts managed to get the stone and embed it into their family ring mistaking the deathly hallows for the 'Peverell coat of arms' and not realising its potential – since they said they were also distantly related to the Slytherins, it's possible the two families intermarried at one time – hence the reason for the Gaunts eventually owning the ring.'

It didn't matter how the Gaunts got the ring in the end though; it didn't change the fact that people were being resurrected. Hermione shuddered to think of the possibilities this could bring; it was great at the moment, but with death eaters being sighted, it was possible that the worst could have happened – that those they hoped were dead were not, and they were in more danger than they'd ever expected.

'So, how does this relate to what's happening here?' Ron said.

'It's obvious, isn't it?' Hermione whispered. 'The resurrection stone has a glitch – it brings back the dead, but it carries on bringing them back even after you've used it; until one day, one of the resurrected people die – then they all die. Harry's use of the resurrection stone sparked something. It's possible that when he dies they will too – when the brother killed himself in the story, the ghost girl also 'moved on'.'

'Basically, either I have to die or one of the people that's been resurrected as to die for them all to go?' Harry asked. 'There's no way of saving the ones we want to keep?'

'Harry, there's no way of truly cheating death,' Hermione said quietly, 'It's the consequence of using the stone – I know you had no reason to believe it was bad, and your intentions weren't bad, but, well – that's the moral behind the tale of the three brothers.'

'But why are all these people coming back?' Harry asked, 'I mean, I wanted my mum and dad to come back in the forest and they did, with Sirius and Lupin – I definitely didn't want Bellatrix to come back!'

Hermione considered this, 'Maybe it's because you died after using the stone and was resurrected; this might have sparked the resurrection of everyone else – all the people you've known to have died.'

'Everyone?' Ron cried.

'Perhaps not everyone.' The voice came from behind them.


	6. Ch 6: Hallelujah

They yelled in terror and Harry met the half moon shaped spectacles and the twinkling eyes beneath them with a bemused expression. This - no matter how obvious it seemed after Hermione's explanations - was completely unexpected.

Dumbledore walked up to Harry, put his hand on his shoulder and said 'I see you made it back ok' with a small smile on his face.

'I see you did too, Professor' he replied, then – without a conscious thought - he hugged him. His mentor, his only fatherly figure that had remained until the beginning of the war, the reason he had survived this and the reason Voldemort was defeated, had returned. It was a relief and a blessing to have him back.

Dumbledore looked down at Harry, tears in his eyes, and said 'You were brave to come back. You did the right thing – your parents are extremely proud.'

'I know.' Harry replied, 'I spoke to them in the forest before I died, remember?'

'Ah - the reason for this dilemma with the ghosts, perhaps – if I've eavesdropped correctly?' Dumbledore aimed this at Hermione.

'Well, I assume so Professor Dumbledore.' Hermione said. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she'd been petrified again. Ron had sat down on the floor, in complete shock.

'As I said, perhaps not everyone is back' Dumbledore said, 'Harry had a strong tie or mental affliction with the people back so far – I've spoken to the survivors in the Great Hall, Tonks and Remus and indeed, Aberforth.'

'You've spoken to Aberforth?' Harry asked, 'How was he?'

'My brother and I have decided to put our differences aside – after what we shall call a 'family discussion', we concluded that neither of us have reason to stay made at one another – after all – you only live once, so I was lucky to get the chance to make amends with one of my family members after all this time. I must apologise, Harry – I never spoke of my family often; the shame, I'm afraid, was what consumed me – I'm not as brave and selfless as you.'

'I'm just glad you're speaking again' Harry said. It didn't seem like Dumbledore to not speak to his family after the death of his sister – perhaps it was the absence of his own family, but Harry had always thought you should be grateful for the family you have, and not die on bad terms with one another if you could help it.

'Anyway, as I was saying, it appears that we can expect more to come, perhaps due to your ties with these people, Harry – if so, it is possible, yes, that the worst may come to be.'

'And what is that, Professor?' Harry asked.

He paused, then said simply 'Voldemort could return.'

Harry almost shouted aloud at this. He'd spent his entire duration of his life in the Wizarding world evading or trying to destroy Voldemort. The struggle had lost him many – but they'd been victorious! Didn't that count for anything?

Hermione made a noise that meant she was in deep thought. She looked up and said 'Maybe not.'

Dumbledore looked at her in delight – it was not often someone as young as Hermione disagreed with his theories. 'And what do you mean by that, Miss Granger?'

'Well, his soul was shattered – he might not be strong enough to come back – it's not like before; he had Horcruxes then. This time he has nothing – the last part of his soul was so weak, I don't think he should be able to make it.'

'A good point, Miss Granger, which may prove correct – only time can tell however.'

Hermione blushed and her face glowed with smugness. Harry knew she was itching to return to Hogwarts and take her NEWTS, and she sounded like she still had it in her to get all 'O's.

'Now Harry. I assume you know what else this means?'

Harry looked at him, puzzled. 'No, sir.'

'Ah, then I must show you. Come with me; I said I'd come and get you – we've been keeping an eye on you, you see.'

They followed him through the castle, back to the Great Hall. Hermione brought the book with her that she had found and was putting it with their things. Dumbledore had told Harry to wait in the centre of the room, so he did so – unsure of what was about to happen.

Two people returned with him, and Harry's heart slowed as he saw who they were, surely he couldn't still be conscious?

Dumbledore was beaming, the two people with him; a man and a woman, were beaming – but Harry's mind was blank – he simply stood, unmoving, as his parents approached him.

Lily Potter was finally able to wrap her arms around him and press her face into his hair lovingly, James embraced them both and Harry was united with his family at last. There were tears – so many tears – not only from the three of them, but also from the families and friends around them. Mr and Mrs Weasley were looking on lovingly with her children, and Harry slowly detached from his parent's embrace to bring them over to meet the Weasley family.

'Mum... dad?' Harry had to stop as he said that out loud – was this even possible? 'These are the Weasleys – they've been my family whilst I've been a wizard – they kept me from staying at the Dursleys whenever they could and I think you'd like them a lot.'

He introduced them to each member of the Weasley family, and even to Fred – he told them about the twin's joke shop and kept talking – there was so much to tell them – so much for them to learn and it was all possible now. The Weasleys looked so pleased for Harry and his parents were greeted with the status of heroes. Mrs Weasley was crying as she spoke to Harry's real mother – after all, they had come to love one another as something of a mother and son and for one to see the other experience a miracle was amazing.

'Lily, dear, we took him in – there's no lovelier boy, really.' Mrs Weasley gushed, 'He's been the greatest of friends to our Ron, and him and Ginny are wonderful and he's just been so brave and I thought he'd need someone as you weren't here – I knew it's what I would have wanted for my children had I been in your place.'

Lily hugged her, tears in her eyes, and said 'Thank you – you really are a gift from the Gods. He needed someone like you – I know he would have gone to my sister and her awful husband and you seem the complete opposite; I cannot thank you enough for being so kind and generous.'

Remus had come and patted James on the back. He introduced him to Teddy, and James grinned when he saw Tonks' arm round him. Both Remus and James had tears in their eyes and Harry joined them when James saw him smiling and gestured for him to come over.

Remus smiled and said, 'You've made us so proud, Harry – you've put my teaching skills to shame with Dumbledore's army, you've put my wizarding skills to shame with your success in the war and you've constantly out done my bravery, loyalty – everything –throughout your entire time in the wizard world, but most importantly with what you did two nights ago.'

'We're so proud to have a son like you.' James said, seriously, 'you put us marauders to shame – even Remus – and he's meant to be the good one! Speaking of Marauders – Sirius should be joining the party soon according to Dumbledore – wonder what's taking him so long? I died ages before him!'

Though it hurt to think about Sirius, Harry knew his Godfather would want him to be happy at what was in front of him, and he was – he felt exhilarated and blessed to have the opportunity to see his parents – even if this was a dream, even if it turned out they had to leave soon – Harry was grateful just to be able to see them, speak with them and hug them like a young boy should be able to do. He felt whole. Only now – now that he had his heart's desire – did he know what that meant. It was like every part of him was lighter and it was impossible to worry, to fear, to be sad. Now when he looked into the Mirror of Erised, Harry knew he would see only himself.

Dumbledore and Lily soon joined them. They began to talk about the past – the things they had missed. It seemed that they had been able to observe a few details from wherever they were in death, though not everything. Dumbledore already had an idea of what was to happen when he died, and his ideas were rarely wrong, so the news of the Hallows the Horcruxes and most of the trio's journey wasn't a surprise to him – nor was Snape's double agent revelation. Lily looked at Dumbledore when he mentioned Snape's death and it was like a little of the light in her eyes had disappeared. James seemed to notice this, and comforted her by putting his arm around her. Dumbledore also noticed this and explained;

'Severus – he seemed to fear that you had died under bad terms with him, so he asked – begged – for me to help you, then at failing that, for me to help your son. He went against Voldemort and succeeded in every mission he was faced with – he was the only one to truly deceive Voldemort and he did it for you. He did – even though you wouldn't have liked it before, James – die a Hero, and it was all for you, and the life of your son.'

Harry stood close to them and Lily was looking at him with loving eyes.

'Severus did what he could – all he could – to protect my son. I forgave him long ago.' Lily whispered. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

'As did I,' James said.

Dumbledore smiled at James and said 'Then he truly was successful and never died in vain. He did deserve it – though he once turned to the dark side, he did all he could to redeem himself, for love.'

James moved closer to Lily, though it was only to comfort her. He had seemingly resolved his immature behaviour towards Snape – perhaps due to jealousy. Harry noticed that he looked genuinely upset at the news of his death. Things had changed, apparently for the better for once.


	7. Ch 7: Looking Up

The tables were set with food again, the new additions to the group being well looked after, surrounded by loved ones and told frivolous tales about the years they'd missed.

'How long did it take you to get to Hogwarts?' James asked.

'Only so long that it took Hagrid to have to come down to the hut on a rock in the middle of the sea that Uncle Vernon had hidden us away in on my 11th Birthday. He had to personally hand me my letter and take me away with him.' Harry grinned

Lily chuckled, 'Always knew they'd be trouble. Luckily you didn't turn out like them, really.'

'Well you turned out alright,' James said, and Lily smiled at him tenderly.

Dumbledore was at the end of the table, and as he stood up, the rest of the table turned instantly toward him, all smiling;

'It has been too long since I last stood in this hall,' Dumbledore smiled, 'but then again, it's a miracle I'm here at all!'

He chuckled and continued, 'I have heard the stories, sent my blessing to the dead and given my condolences to their families; you have truly made wizarding history – long live these memories and may we pass on to a new, brighter future. '

There was clapping, then dessert. Luna was talking to George about Wrackspurts, apparently organising his next clearing. Harry grinned as he saw George looking genuinely interested; who thought he'd be the one to understand her?

The doors to the Great Hall swung open suddenly, and Filch came running in, red in the face and holding Mrs Norris, apparently she'd been hiding in an upstairs cupboard; Filch was ecstatic when he'd found her, but now he'd gone bad to his grumpy old self.

'There's an elf causing havoc in the kitchen, Professor Dumbledore, sir.' He grumbled.

Dumbledore smiled and said, 'Ah, why don't you take Harry and his friends with you – I'm sure they'll be able to figure something out with the elf.'

Filch nodded and Harry left with Hermione and Ron,

'What exactly are they doing?' Hermione asked Filch, 'you haven't punished him yet have you?'

Filch gave her a moody sideways glance, 'stop your pointless stressing, Miss Granger; they just need a little calming down, that's all.'

They approached the door to the kitchen, and Harry could hear a familiar voice saying , ' Master Dumbledore used to say we're as good as free elves here! Free elves should have the rights to bath, yes?'

'Dobby!' they cried as they opened the door,

'Harry Potter!' The elf smiled, he had filled the sink to the brim, and had the washing liquid ready to have a bath – luckily he still had his rag cloth thing on, 'Master Weasley! Miss Granger! An honour it is to see you again! Dobby has missed you awfully!'

Harry smiled, 'You haven't got new clothes yet, I see'

'Dobby hasn't found any small enough, sir.' He said looking upset at the fact.

'I'll get mum to make you a jumper, how about that?' Ron grinned; Hermione chuckled and went to hug Dobby,

'I missed you' she said, with tears in her eyes, 'I'm glad you're ok.'

Dobby smiled, 'Dobby is glad the war is over and Miss Granger and her friends is ok!'

'We'll let you have your bath now,' Harry said, 'but we'll talk to you later, Ok?'

'Thank you Harry Potter; a pleasure it is to see you again.'

'You too,' he smiled.

Filch wasn't as happy as they were when they walked out the door, 'You weren't meant to let him get away with it.' He muttered.

'He is a free elf,' Ron replied, 'I suppose normal baths would be too deep for him anyway.'

They were walking back to the great hall, when Harry saw a black shadow in the courtyard opposite the entrance to the greenhouses. Without explaining, he began running toward the stairs.

'Harry! Where are you going?' Ron shouted. They ran after him, and as they approached the courtyard Harry slowed to a brisk walk, he motioned to the others to stay quiet as he sneaked to the corner and looked through the gaps in the stone wall.

He couldn't see any black shadow, and began to pass it off as his imagination, but he heard a gasp from behind him and turned to see Hermione pointing upwards, towards where the staircases for the Defence against the Dark Arts classrooms were. The black shadow, again, in the window.

'I wasn't imagining it then.' Harry said, 'Let's go.'

They ran, again, up through the castle. They arrived, breathless, at the bottom of the staircase and took their wands out as they ascended them slowly. There was the sound of a door being slammed shut, and Hermione gave a very faint whimper which Harry could have sworn he was imagining. They continued, Harry leading the way, and stopped outside Remus Lupin's old teaching room. All was silent.

Harry held his hand on the door handle, whispered 'Alohamora', then just as the lock sprung open, he threw the door forwards and the three of them bundled into the room.

Standing in front of them, was a mist. It was a half-formed shadow of a person who seemed to be pointing a wand at them. Harry drew away from the door, terrified yet curious; would magic even work with something so... vaporised?

'AVADA-'

Harry slammed the door and they ran down the stairs, hearts thudding and brains frozen – what was that thing?

Hermione was whimpering, trying to get something out of her bag. Harry heard a noise like a bird's wings, and all three ducked as it passed over their heads. Ron shot a stunning spell at it but was shocked and horrified to find that it went straight through the figure. As the black shape drew nearer and nearer, Harry dragged Hermione and Ron back up the stairs toward the classroom, not knowing what they were going to do, or if they were going to come back out again. He shut the door again and Hermione locked it immediately. They stood for a few seconds at the back of the room, waiting for it to return.

'Hermione you'd better have an explanation for this...' Ron said, looking wide eyed at the door.

'Oh, so it's _my_ fault now is it? My fault that something unheard of has happened _again? _Don't be ridiculous, Ron. I haven't a clue. I can only liken it to a ghost... or perhaps a Dementor.'

Harry's mind sprung into action suddenly, ' A Dementor? But it was more... mist-like and human shaped. There wasn't the cold, depressing feeling like usual either.'

'It was a theory, Harry and I doubt-'

Hermione stopped abruptly and looked at the door. Harry gasped as the mist simply passed through the door. Not even Dementors could do that.

This was something worse.

Nevertheless, Harry gave it his best shot and conjured a patronus. He was pleased to see it was fully formed; the return of so many had revived his spirits and he felt almost whole again. However, this was darkened as the realisation dawned on him that the black shape was not fading...


End file.
